AtroPIM¶

• AtroPIM
  • Intro
  • Installation
    • Install AtroPIM on Ionos Managed Server
      • Prerequisite
      • Prepare Installation
      • Missing ext-imagick Dependency
      • Install
      • Fix Module Manager and Cronjobs
  • Update
    • Update log stuck at "Starting..."
  • Using the AtroCore API in 3rd Party Clients

Intro¶

AtroCore is an Open-Source data management software that serves as the basis for a powerful Product Information Management (AtroPIM) and Digital Asset Management (AtroDAM) and also Project Management (PM).

It was built on EspoCRM and they still share the tech stack (PHP and backbone.js) and the core functionality in their API and how entities are being set up and their is some resemblance in their UI.

AtroCore/PIM/DAM is available on-premise and as a service. Their code is public and in active development.

The last point is a pro and a con at the same time, since they introduce breaking changes occasionally, without really documenting them. This is critical, if their API is used for third-party clients. I'm often one update away from breaking our app.

This document is a collection of solutions in my work with AtroPIM.

Installation¶

Install AtroPIM on Ionos Managed Server¶

Prerequisite¶

Make sure you know about the following topics related to Ionos Managed Servers/Webhosting.

• Using PHP Composer in IONOS Webhosting Packages - IONOS
• Use ImageMagick - IONOS Help
• Cron - IONOS Help
• Executing PHP Scripts in the Command Line - IONOS Help

Prepare Installation¶

Download atrocore/skeleton-pim files for composer as described in the docs

Missing ext-imagick Dependency¶

PHP ext-imagick extension is a requirement to install AtroPIM, but that's not available on Ionos Managed Server. To get around this limitation, add the following to the downloaded composer.json.

{
  "name": "atrocore/skeleton-pim",
  "description": "Skeleton for AtroPIM",
  "homepage": "https://atropim.com",
  "minimum-stability": "stable",
  "require": {
      "atrocore/core": "*",
      "atrocore/pim": "*",
      "atrocore/dam": "*",
-     "atrocore/export-feeds": "*"
+     "atrocore/import-feeds": "*",
+     "calcinai/php-imagick": "dev-master"
+ },
+ "config": {
+   "platform":{
+     "ext-imagick": "3.4.4"
+   }
+ },
  "repositories": [
      {
          "type": "composer",
          "url": "https://packagist.atrocore.com/packages.json?id=common"
      }
  ]
}

The config.platform part fakes the existence of ext-imagick. In order to use ext-imagick methods (which AtroDAM relies on), require calcinai/php-imagick, a PHP wrapper for command line ImageMagick utils compatible with PECL::Imagick.¹

Install¶

Install AtroPIM with composer as described

php composer.phar update

You can't change file ownership on the managed server, so you can skip Step 3.

Set up the cronjob via CLI and create the database with Ionos web interface (MySQL 5.7).

Start the installation wizard.

If everything went smoothly (and I can't guarantee that) you should be able to use AtroPIM.

Fix Module Manager and Cronjobs¶

AtroPIM doesn't work properly if their Scheduled Jobs are not executed. By default, AtroPIM expects the PHP binary, used to execute scripts on the command line, to be either php or usr/bin/php (whatever the script detects).

On Ionos Managed Server, there is a PHP 4 binary under this path², so everything will fail. But, you can call all available PHP versions by adding the desired version, like this: usr/bin/php8.1-cli.

In order to use that in AtroPIM open data/config.php and add the phpBinPath key.

<?php
return [
    'phpBinPath' => 'php8.1-cli',
];

To be sure the cronjob is set up correctly, check Administration/Module Manager if there is still an error message like The composer daemon is not running! Probably the daemon is reloading now….

In this case, check data/config.php for an unique appId key³. This is especially important if multiple instances are running on the same server (for development or staging) ^b45734

Update¶

Update log stuck at "Starting..."¶

• Restart Server

Using the AtroCore API in 3rd Party Clients¶

When consuming their #API (https://demo.atropim.com/apidocs/) in a third-party client it's highly recommended to:

• follow the changelog and check for API changes (not always obvious!)
  • https://github.com/atrocore/atropim/releases
  • https://help.atrocore.com/
  • https://help.atrocore.com/feed_rss_created.xml
  • https://help.atrocore.com/feed_rss_updated.xml
• set up a dev/staging instance[^b45734|^b45734](%23%5Eb45734%7C%5Eb45734) to check updates before applying to the live system (no-brainer I guess)
• use Postman or any API discovery tool and write JSON Schema to test against.
• or use a Data Transfer Object (DTO) to define the fields needed, so the third-party client throws an error or exception as soon as something is off. #dto
• use a diff tool like Tufin/oasdiff: OpenAPI Diff and Breaking Changes

The reason is, Atro* is in active development without a public roadmap, cryptic or absent notes in the changelog and no API versioning. Every update is a make it or break it situation.